Engineered plastic solutions

Category Archives: Upcoming Events

thyssenkrupp Materials AIN Plastics branch has greatly enjoyed it’s Madison Heights location for many years. However, growth has brought a need for a larger facility so the Corporate office of AIN Plastics will be moving to Auburn Hills, Michigan in April.

AIN Plastics Branch Manager, Jeff Garden

Branch Manager, Jeff Garden has been facilitating the move and stated, “we are on track to have our first day in Auburn Hills on April 20, 2016.” However, Mr. Garden also noted, “as with any big move we have a lot to do once we are in Auburn Hills so the branch will not be fully operational until April 26, 2016.” To that end, the Madison Heights Team including Inside Sales, Outside Sales, Warehouse fulfillment, and AIN’s Purchasing team, also housed at Madison Heights, has been working hard to ensure a smooth transition into the new facility. Jeff added, “everyone is really looking forward to the space which will be approximately double in size from the current Madison Heights location.”

The staff asks that if you are planning to come to the branch between April 20 and April 26 that you call ahead. 877.246.7700.

The new address for the AIN Plastics Michigan Branch is:

thyssenkrupp Materials NA

AIN Plastics Division

10 Corporate Drive

Auburn Hills, MI 48326

Oh but what about the phone number? No worries! The phone number is still 877.246.7700. This phone number for AIN Plastics will automatically put you in contact with your nearest branch.

As for what the new site looks like, we have a few photos to share and word is it will be bright and modern. We will share more here and on our social channels in the weeks ahead.

Like this:

After a year or more of research and hard work to expand, AIN Plastics is pleased to announce the opening of a new AIN Plastics Distributor Branch in the St. Louis Missouri area.

New Business Locations Don’t Happen Overnight

This week I had the opportunity to talk with Chris Urban, Branch Manager for AIN Plastics new St. Louis Area Distribution Facility. I asked him what it took to get a new branch opened up. Chris said they started with finding the right location, which turned out to be in the same building as the St. Louis area ThyssenKrupp Materials NA Facility (AIN Plastics parent company since 1993). Then came finding the right equipment which includes a brand new saw for custom cutting orders and finding just the right people with both customer service and previous plastics experience. Chris noted they wanted to hit the ground running from their first day of business. He went on to say:

“We have worked hard in preparation over the past year prior to our opening and we are very excited to see our hard work pay off. ThyssenKrupp Materials NA, AIN Plastics Division did a great deal of research regarding this project. St. Louis is an ideal location to further extend our distribution. From this branch we will be able to provide customer service and quick turn around on orders to Missouri and surrounding states.”

Chris also said he wanted to thank all the AIN people that came to St. Louis from other branches to support his team for the first few days. “Having the support of the entire AIN Plastics company has made starting the new branch a great experience for everyone. We feel truly supported and connected to everyone in the company.”

AIN Offers More than Materials – It’s about Value Added Services

I asked Chris about the services they will be offering. Chris says the new AIN Plastics distribution branch offers a comprehensive list of value added services including:

Close tolerance custom cutting of orders

Customized Inventory and stocking programs including just in time delivery solutions

A vast inventory of sheet and rod materials, some of them highly specialized

Professional team with years of plastics industry experience

ThyssenKrupp Nationwide Logistics for the best possible delivery

More Manufacturers are Choosing Plastic Due to it’s Many Benefits

Chris talked about how the selection of plastics is changing rapidly due to its value as a lightweight component in manufacturing, it’s ability to be reused and recycled, and it’s cost. Plastics are often an affordable material compared to more traditional resources such as metal, wood, or glass, and they often outlast and outperform those materials. Researchers are always developing even better plastics. “We have a team in place that can help customers sort through and not just find a plastic that will work, but rather the right plastic for their application.”

Plastics, Plastics, and More!

When it comes to what plastics the St. Louis AIN Plastics branch will stock, Chris gave me a short rundown and said this doesn’t come close to covering all the materials we have:

Industrial Plastics

High Pressure Laminates

Engineering Plastics including

ABS

Acetal

Cast Acrylic

Polycarbonate

Radel R

Semitron

Techtron

Composite Tooling products

RAMPF Styling, Modeling, and Tooling Boards

RAMPF Close Contour Paste and Casting Materials

Thermoform Materials

Epoxy Casting and Laminating Resins

Foundry and Pattern Materials

Plastic Tubing including Medical and Food Grade

FDA compliant plastics for medical and food service industries

Silicone

Rapid Prototyping

DuPont TM Vespel® (AIN Plastics is the Authorized Distributor)

Well, you get the idea, it’s a long list and that’s just the beginning. Chris says the best way to learn more is by visiting the website ainplastics.com or better yet by giving them a call at 877.246.7700.
The AIN Plastics Distribution Facility is located next to the ThyssenKrupp Materials NA facility:

59 Interstate Drive
Wentzville, MO 63385

Hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

For more information regarding the new AIN Plastics St. Louis Area Branch

That’s it for this week’s news. Look for our other posts where we look not at ourselves, but at the world of plastics. What’s new, what works, why certain plastics are good in specific applications and more. IF you do want to learn more about AIN Plastics and our history check out the “About Us” page on our site.

AIN Plastics Dick Cubero and Phil Andriano are on hand at this year’s 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium for the AAOP (American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists).

O&P expert, Dick Cubero noted, “The Annual Meeting and Symposium of AAOP has become an important annual event for AIN Plastics. We get to sit down with orthotists and prosthetists from all over the country and focus on their needs and concerns for several days. It’s a great time to get to know each other better and to do some real problem solving.”

New Customer Service Features from AIN Plastics

This year AIN Plastics will be unveiling several new enhancements to their services for orthotists and prosthetists. One we are very happy to announce are updates to our website ainplastics.com. We have always had a section dedicated to our orthotic and prosthetic materials and now we’ve made enhancements that will help make finding material information even easier.

New Tables –For a quick reference, take a look at the tables, sorted by general material types: Polyolefin, Clear Plastics, Rigid Plastics, Flexible Plastics, and Metals. Each table contains a short description, typical applications, and basic test data for Flexural Modulus and Forming Temperature.

More In Depth O&P Material Information –For more in depth information on a material, we’ve added a “Learn More” which takes website users to downloadable .pdfs of technical data, MSDSs and other information currently available. New and improved materials can greatly benefit the professional orthotist and prosthetist as well as the end user of the product developed just for them. But the number of new advances can also be a daunting thing to stay on top of. Our goal is to continue to update the new O&P section of our website as we obtain new information so you always have one easy place to access it all.

New O&P Material Labeling

Coinciding with the website enhancements are new material labels featuring QR codes! These popular codes work similar to a barcode except you can scan them from a smart phone. The new QR codes will take users directly to the ainplastics,com site and to the particular material they are looking at. If you don’t currently use a QR code scanner on your smart phone, you can easily add one for free by going to your phone’s app store and searching QR. We think this will make access to technical data, MSDSs and more faster and easier.

New Print Guide to Materials for Orthotics and ProstheticsAIN Plastics also revised their Guide to Materials for Orthotics and Prosthetics. This handy print reference has been a great desk reference for our customers for quite a few years but it was time for a refresh. We took a look and thought – Hey! what if this could also be a handy poster that could hang on the wall so it’s there for you even when your hands are full of plastics! Dick Cubero and Phil Andriano will be handing out these free guides throughout the show along with some shop aprons, and other goodies we think everyone will find useful.

Camie 100 Spray Lubricant and Camie 300 Spray Adhesive

Last but not least, Dick Cubero wanted to let people know about a product that many of his customers have had excellent results with. Results have been so good that AIN is sending out free samples for O&P professionals to try. “Camie 300 Spray Adhesive and Camie 100 Spray Lubricant have quickly become the product of choice for many of the orthotists and prosthetists I work with. The adhesive can be used to temporarily position materials, but it also works well as a permanent adhesive in O&P applications like scoliosis jackets.” Dick also said, “The spray on lubricant has really helped to make working with materials easier in all sorts of O&P applications including reducing or eliminating glove marks often left while plastics are being worked and toughened.” He added many users like to spray Camie 100 on the blades of their scissors because it keeps glue from building up and sticking. For more detailed information on Camie 100 and 300 download a pdf of technical data here – TDS – Camie 100-300 02-13

If you are at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium for AAOP I hope you made it to the AIN Plastics booth (#421). But if you are seeing this blog post after the show, it’s no problem. Our website is always available for your use 24/7 at ainplastics.com. The new guide is available as a .pdf download, but you can also contact Dick Cubero or Phil Andriano directly and they can get an original copy sent to you directly along with samples you might need. Of course they are also on hand to answer your O&P material questions whether it pertains to thermoforming, material selection or other related items.

It’s hard to believe it’s been over 6 months since I began working at AIN Plastics. Hard to believe because everyday is packed full of lots of projects and lots of things to learn about plastics. There have been new people to meet and old friends to reconnect with, and it’s all been really fun, so the time has truly flown by.

As I’ve gone through these months I developed a hunch. My guess is, when it come to plastics for manufacturing and specialty uses, a lot of you in many industries are in the same boat because there are so many material choices out there. So I’m inviting you to take the journey along with me to learn about plastics. What are plastics, what are the different types, why are they being used more and more, and what plastics will work for your applications. In fact, I hope you’ll share your applications and experiences as well.

While we are at it we’ll take a stroll through plastics history too. I’m a huge history buff so every time I hear about a plastic I like to dig in and find out how it all started. These days plastics seem to surround us, but it wasn’t that long ago we relied on other materials such as wood, metal, and glass for everything from IV ‘bottles’, to baby bottles, cooking utensils, sporting equipment. Hmmm – what were shower curtains before plastic? I’ll get back to you on that one, or if you know, please share! We love comments.

So let’s get started! Today I’d like to stay in the present and take a look at a helpful piece that came across my desk. As we all know there are literally thousands of types of plastic materials out there and more are hitting the market all the time, so anytime there is something that can help you to select the best one for the job we here at AIN will be sure to share it with you. After all, getting the right material helps everyone. The item that came across my desk is in regards to Materials for seals and gaskets.

So let’s start with a couple of questions – • Do you make seals or gaskets? • Do you need your seals and gaskets to be Teflon®? • Do you have a high temperature application? • Do you need FDA compliant seal and gasket material?

The most common choices for seals and gaskets are UHMW – PE, Teflon, and PEEK. These are all great options, but another material called Fluorosint® has, until now been a little less known for seals and gaskets however, it is proving to give material specifiers another excellent option for certain higher temperature applications. Two Fluorosint® materials are FDA compliant giving you options for special applications in food or medical applications.

In selecting material for gaskets and seals temperature and pressure are the two biggest factors people generally consider. This chart easily shows where TIVAR® UHMW-PE, Teflon®, Ketron® PEEK, filled and unfilled PTFE, and Fluorosint® and Duratron® fit in as material options. Test results clearly show that Fluorosint® and Duratron® fit very well into a gap left for high temperature and high pressure applications. To make your selection even more exact, Quadrant (manufacturer of Fluorosint®) has developed several Fluorosint® materials (207, HPV, 500) and each was specifically developed with a certain application area in mind.

Below is a Material Selector Guide that covers all of these materials in two easy formats. One simply compares how a product does in relation to heat and pressure. The other compares Fluorosint® to Rulon®, another common material for seals and gaskets. You can also compare the FDA compliant materials.

From materials suitable for average heat and pressure to the highest, this chart will help you to easily cross reference common seal and gasket materials.

Compare test results of Fluorosint and Rulon and see at a glance what material fits your application.

As we go forward I’ll be looking at each of these products on an individual basis. But, if you see something here you like and you want to know all the details right now, we do have more information available on our website: Fluorosint Product Information. You can also talk to one of people. We have a knowledgeable staff that can help with any questions you may have about seal and gasket materials. Just call 877.246.7700 and you will be connected with the AIN Plastics office nearest you.

If you are along for the journey that’s great! If seals and gaskets aren’t your thing, no worries, I’ll be talking about all sorts of other materials as we go. In fact, you can sign up and get our posts in your mailbox so you don’t miss the latest.

I hope you find these charts helpful in your search for that just right seal or gasket material. We’ll see you in the blogosphere again very soon!